What would the world look like if more people between the ages of 18 and 24 voted?
Kate Brown, for one, thinks the world would be a better place. The Oregon secretary of state dropped by Hermiston High School on Thursday to encourage 18-year-olds to vote and 17-year-olds to register – and to get involved in government.
Brown talked up Oregon’s history of ground-breaking legislation and its initiative process that gives Oregonians the opportunity to have a direct say in passing statewide laws.
“Oregon has a very active initiative and referendum system,” she told an auditorium full of high school students. Brown said getting citizen-led initiatives on the ballot allows Oregonians to act when the Legislature fails to do so. She cited several examples including Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, which allows terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, prescribed by a physician.
“I don’t believe our Legislature would ever have passed that,” she said.
Brown shared with the students her experiences in government and stressed that anyone can run for public office regardless of their experience and background. She won her first election to the Oregon House of Representatives despite have little money or name recognition.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to work on issues I cared about,” she said. “But I had no name ID and no experience.”
No problem, said Brown.
“We knocked on thousands of doors and talked to as many people as possible,” she said. It paid off when she won by seven votes.
“Twenty years later, I still have people come up to me and say, ‘I was your seventh vote,’” she said.
After two terms in the House, Brown was elected to the state Senate and in 2004 became the first woman in Oregon history to become Senate majority leader. She was elected to the office of secretary of state in 2008 and re-elected to a second term in 2012.
Her job is to oversee the state’s elections, as well as serve as auditor and archivist for the state.
As auditor, Brown said her responsibility is “to make sure your taxpayer dollars are spend effectively and efficiently.” As archivist, she serves as “the keeper of Oregon’s published history.” Her office also publishes the Oregon Blue Book, which she described as “the almanac of Oregon.”
Her office is holding an essay contest and she encouraged the students on Thursday to submit an essay on why people should come to Oregon. The contest winner’s essay will be published in the next Blue Book.
Whether or not any of the students she spoke with on Thursday enter politics as a profession remains to be seen, but Brown encouraged everyone in the auditorium to become an active voter and participant in the state’s election process.
“Read the Voter’s Pamphlet and follow the news so you will become an educated and informed voter,” she said.
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